A Fool's Conviction
by SylentDoom
Summary: Minecraft has changed. It's no longer a leisurely game that allows you to make mistakes and try again. If you screw up, you seal your own fate. When over five million gamers are forced into a harsh and unforgiving world, they must learn to work together, all the while tearing each other apart. Action, mystery, romance, legend... The story of an outsider, and a fool.
1. A Fool's Conviction

**Author Note:**

It's the first chapter so I'll keep it short.

This will be my second Minecraft fan fiction. Feel free to check out the first one, Endergirl, which as you may have guessed, is a mob talker. But for now, lets focus on this story. This is a pretty lame way to start a book, but I'd just like to assure you that the Notchcraft server presented here is in _no way_ related to the actual Notchcraft server which I discovered a few minutes ago.

Now that all of the boring stuff is out of the way, on with the story!

Enjoy.

* * *

**A Fool's Conviction**

To be honest, the club president was a bit of a dick.

"Again!" He yelled, for the umpteenth time that cold winter's afternoon.

The dimly lit classroom that had been designated to our Judo club, did nothing to keep out the harsh wind that whipped around the building. It was relentless, howling at the top of its lungs, trying to interrupt our practice. If only it were strong enough to do just that.

"Again!" The white clad figure before me repeated, growing agitated at my hesitation.

Blake, the Judo club president. One of the toughest, most popular and well-built guys in the grade. His arms were the size of cannons, ripped and true. He never needed to try and show off his masculinity, as anyone who couldn't see it had obviously already discovered the vision impairment that accompanied his right hook.

Judo, founded in Japan during the early eighteen eighties, roughly translated to 'gentle way'. What Blake demonstrated was anything _but _gentle. Why the fuck was there a judo club at my high school? Well, we used to have a boxing club, but apparently it was too much of a 'vicious' sport. And thus, the judo club was formed.

'Join the judo club!' they said. 'It'll be fun!' they said. 'Nobody will beat you up!'

No. All it did was provide a bunch of blood thirsty teenagers with another opportunity to throw the pathetic white kid to the floor. That's right. I was the punching bag.

Sensing that the president's patience was wearing thin, I took a step forwards, bracing myself. His eyes lit up with a familiarly terrifying glow. Without so much as a second's hesitation, he pounced. My mind couldn't analyse his movements quick enough to respond. With a brutish precision, he grabbed hold of my wrist, kicking in my leg and rotating me through the air. The room spun around me as I descended towards the floor with an astronomical amount of force.

I groaned as my back hit the wooden floorboards with a devastating vigour. I writhed on the ground, tossing this way and that as I tried to suck the expelled breath back into me.

"Stop bitching around and get to your feet."

I struggled to stand up, ignoring the sarcastic comments and gazes that the other members exchanged between each other. The adrenaline fuelled asshole that stood across from me fell into his usual stance.

"Again!"

* * *

The cold water from the sink in front of me lashed against my skin. I winced as I reluctantly cupped another handful and tried once more to rid myself of the specks of blood that dotted my injuries. The bathroom was deserted at this time of the day, the small slice of calm that existed between late afternoon and dusk. It was for the better. Things would only become more complicated if I was seen like this.

I gazed at the bruises that covered my shoulders, arms and sides. The mirror did nothing to render out the meshed blue surface, seeing anything other than pain was a mirage. I grimaced as I traced the newly formed dints and ridges with my fingertips. It was familiar. Pain was familiar. Sure, a year or two ago I would have shed a few tears, whined. But there was no point anymore, after all this time I had learnt at least one thing.

Nobody could save you from your own stupid decisions.

I sighed, as I slid out of my tattered Judogi, dropping it onto the backpack that lay by my feat. Or at least _trying_ to. The crumpled uniform unfolded itself halfway through its descent and sailed off across the room.

_Honestly._

I looked back to the mirror once more. Spiky jet black hair soaked with sweat, it hung across my face in a surprisingly neat manor for the torment the rest of my body had endured. Forest green eyes, veiled with their usual drab loneliness. What I suppose could be considered an angular face, its features well defined. An athletic build, not fit, but not exactly chubby either.

Essentially, I was a blank slate. In every way, shape and form.

Not horrible at anything, but not good at much either. Somewhere along the line I fell into the gap that separated the various cliques and social groups. As a result, I was that kid who sat by himself in the cafeteria, the one who spent his free periods gazing at the sky and the one who possessed the uncanny ability to push people away.

The school loner.

Giving up on my self-analysis, I rummaged through my bag for a shirt. I pulled out the dark red V-neck with only a minor struggle, and slipped it over my shoulders. The soft fabric felt like sandpaper against my tortured muscles, but I ignored the irritation as I retrieved my Judo uniform and stuffed it into my luggage. Lifting it with a practiced grace, I hung the backpack delicately from my least damaged shoulder, and proceeded out the door.

My eyes strained to readjust as the sun directed its scrutiny towards them, despite the wearily overcast sky. It would be dark soon, the shadows that clung to the surrounding buildings promised that. The architect of the school, whoever he was, did not have a sense for the importance of greenery. Concrete however, he understood, as the entirety of the hopelessly boring campus was constructed from the solid resource. But only the brave tuff of grass that emerged from cracks in the pavement could contrast to the consistently grey stone. In other words, there was not a tree or shrub in sight.

The walk home was usually short enough, but today I spanned the distance in half the time. I had something to look forward to… I crossed the road, took the shortcut through the depressingly empty park and finally ascended the small incline up the driveway. The garage was open, as it usually was. My father hunted amongst the mess of tools and parts that littered the floor for some specific puzzle piece.

He looked up as I entered, sparking his face with the same joyful expression as it did every afternoon. It was difficult to maintain a straight face around him. 'Identical.' Was a word commonly used to describe our appearances, I couldn't exactly call the term a lie. His hair, although containing a subtle spice of grey, was the same colour and sharpness as mine. His build was athletic, only slightly taller than me at the moment, but there was no doubt that I would eventually overtake him. The only noteworthy differences were the tanned skin and the way his eyes sparkled with excitement, rather than appear bottomless.

"How was training?" He asked, giving me his full attention.

"Good." I lied, it had become habit by this point. "How's the Ducati?"

His gaze shifted to the battered up road bike that stood between us. It was a pet project of his, always fixing it up in his spare time. A Ducati Sports Classic One Thousand, It had been part of the family for as long as I could remember.

"I need the socket wrench."

Smirking, I started inside. "It's next to your foot."

I dropped my bag onto the wooden floorboards and slipped off my shoes, quickly skidding into the next room on my socks. I hurriedly opened the fridge and grabbed a drink. I was going to be late. Rushing up the creaking stairs, I followed the cramped hallway to its end, pushing through the last wooden door. Our house wasn't exactly luxurious, it was cramped, dysfunctional and often complained loudly, but it held itself up well enough. We had gotten it for a bargain after all, which kind of put criticising it out of the question.

My room sat at its corner, the farthest away you could get from any other room. It didn't hold much, just an unmade single bed and a scratched wooden desk. But the desk held my most important possessions. Two sleek computer monitors sat behind a high performance keyboard and gaming mouse, glowing brightly to display my background. I had built the tower, which sat underneath the wooden surface, myself. I saved and spent the entirety of my money on collecting the parts that I needed to create the perfect build.

I suppose it was my Ducati.

If anyone ever asked, I just played first person shooters and high fantasy games, but that wasn't necessarily the truth… I set my drink down and sunk into the comfortable office chair as I did every afternoon. It was amazing how quickly I could forget about the hardships of my life when I was connected to the rest of the world. Maybe that was why I had started gaming in the first place.

I checked the time at the bottom of the screen. 5:26, I had just made it. Sliding my mouse across its pad, I double clicked. The familiar launcher appeared, spamming code for a few seconds before opening up to the latest news.

Minecraft.

I had become addicted to the game almost as soon as I had discovered it a few years back. I would play for hours, mining, building and fighting. I wasn't the best, but I was nowhere near being a complete noob. There was something about the game that just wouldn't let me put it down… Pushing back the moment of nostalgia, I started reading over the newest entry on the newsfeed.

_The final update:_

_With the launch of the world wide Notchcraft server, Mojang will cease development of project Minecraft. It has been a pleasure playing with you. Remember, the following updates will only effect your game if you join the Notchcraft server. Furthermore, if you wish to reserve a spot on the whitelist, you must join before 5:30 PM PST._

_\+ Added new types of weapons_  
_\+ Added more food variants_  
_\+ Added more dungeons_  
_\+ Added a wider number of bosses_  
_\+ Added heaps of new items_  
_\+ Added varying types of mobs_  
_* Major changes to weapon crafting_  
_* Changes in how EXP levels are used_  
_* Building has been made a little more difficult_

The list extended further than I thought possible. As much as I wanted to read through its entirety, I didn't have the time. I scrolled to the bottom hurriedly, just checking for anything important.

_* Changes to how players log out  
* DRASTIC improvements to graphics  
\- Removed Herobrine_

_Be warned, the Notchcraft server is not for the light hearted._

As I clicked the login button and the game began updating, I couldn't help but wonder at the message. Everything about the update note seemed… Vague. Sure, they had mentioned new items and mobs, changes had been made here and there, but they didn't exactly go into specifics… I shrugged, resolving to just check the Minecraft Wiki later.

The clock ticked down to 5:29 as the home screen finally flashed into sight, the download completed successfully. Thank god for my excessively high internet speed. A new button presented itself, placed above singleplayer. I didn't need to study it to know where it lead. Clicking with haste, I was surprised when the screen plummeted into darkness.

A mess of white writing appeared on the black background.

_Notchcraft Terms and Conditions_

What followed was text smaller than I thought possible, creating what would have been a fifty page document. Two choices awaited me at the bottom of the screen.

_Accept. Back to title._

I glanced at the time. "Fuck it." And pressed down on the accept button.

The writing disappeared, leaving a bottomless black in its wake. I waited patiently. Nothing happened. A glitch? I guess with such a huge update they were bound to hap-

The void contained within my monitor shimmered. At first I thought I had imagined it, put once it happened again, there was no denying. A single stream of black liquid rolled from the screen, teetering on the edge, and dropping with a small plop to the surface of my desk. I peered at the tiny droplet…

Another of the darkened orbs hit the wooden desktop, snapping my gaze to it. And another, and another. Before long it had turned into a haphazard rain, flooding from the monitor. What the hell was going on?

Sensing the danger of the situation, I pushed backwards a little in my chair, the wheels rolling across the wooden floorboards. The oozing substance froze. Despite its lack of eyes I could feel the intimidating gaze fall upon me, it watched my every movement, my every breath.

It was a standoff.

For some reason, I was scared. Fear coursed through my veins, locking my thoughts in place. What was happening to me? I had to do something, I couldn't stay rooted to my chair forever. We both knew this. Coming to a decision, I took a deep breath…

I jolted out of my chair, flinging it behind me. The void reacted by hurling itself over the edge, landing with a small splotch on the floor. Panicking, I made for the door, crossing the room in a few long strides. I reached for the door knob, but my grip fell short as I tripped over something. The ground greeted me with a dull thud. I stared down at my attacker, now coiled around my leg.

It accelerated at a supernatural speed, wrapping around my entire torso before I had time to react. I struggled and thrashed but my movements simply made it easier to be completely enveloped by the demonic slime. I let out a yell of terror and frustration as the liquid began to morph into a dark purple before quickly clambering across my face, sealing me off from the outside world.

A flash of white burnt lightning across my irises, and before I knew it, I was falling.

Falling through a sky I did not recognise, tumbling past clouds that weren't quite normal. It took all of my strength to balance myself as the wind tore at my skin, lashing my hair and clothes in every direction. I gasped at the landscape that spread out before me.

Gigantic mountain peaks higher than anything I had ever seen, thick forests spanning miles in length, and a raging ocean that created a sandy shoreline. Adjusting my vision I noticed something truly amazing out of the corner of my eye. Floating islands… Suspended high above the ground, covered in a white misty haze.

The scenery may have been stunning, but it did nothing to slow my perilous descent. I panicked as the ground neared, it seemed like a distant object at the moment, but my understanding of basic physics reminded me of how quickly that would change.

A voice drifted across the wind, surprisingly, it was clear and easy to understand. "Fashionably late I see."

I twisted to discover an unmistakeable individual floating in the air next to me. He was thinner than he was in the photos I had seen, in fact he almost seemed masculine. But the black fedora and trench coat, accompanied by a rather magnificent beard… Well, it couldn't be anybody else.

Notch.

"What the fuck is going on!?" I yelled above the torrent of wind.

He laughed as he twirled in the air, by some miracle managing to keep the fedora on his head. "You're plummeting towards the ground at just a little under a hundred and twenty miles per hour!"

"Could you be more specific!?"

He spun around me, twirling his arms in the air. "Welcome to Notchcraft."

Notchcraft… The update… When they said drastic improvements to graphics, they weren't kidding. I groaned. "You've got to be joking."

"Hey, I put a lot of time into this. Sound a bit more enthusiastic." He sulked.

I glared at him. "What's going on?"

"You'll see. I just wanted to greet the last player to join before we started." He spun away from me, fading into the distance. "Good luck."

Good luck? I was plummeting to my death! The ground was nearing closer and closer. By this point I could see the dots of people the crowded the massive clearing below me. There were thousands of them, wandering around and taking in the new world. Other players…

I curled up into a ball as I neared the ground, hearing the faint shouts of the crowd below. After what seemed like an eternity of expectation my bones splintered and throbbed, my muscles snapped and complained, the breath completely knocked out of me as I fell against the grass with an ear shattering crack. The pain was excruciating, tearing its way through each and every nerve ending, creating a new type of agony.

But then it was gone.

Air flowed back into my lungs, my muscles resumed response to my commands, my thoughts became clear once more. Once my ears began to register something other than a high pitched ringing, and my eyes refocused themselves from their wavering state, I began to recognise the ambiance surrounding me.

Shallow laughter, from the small audience that had gathered around me. Each person was different. Assortments of kids, teenagers and the occasional young adult. They all wore something different, from shorts to bathrobes, aprons to hoodies. They must have been kidnapped through their computers the same way I had been.

As I stared up into the faces of the strangers, somebody spoke in a language I did not recognise. I looked around, confused. Another voice, from a young Asian girl, the language unrecognisable yet again.

"English?" Somebody asked.

My gaze snapped to the speaker, a teenager, probably just a year or two older than myself. The tall figure wore a simple black jacket over a blue T-shirt, denim jeans to match. I took his hand as he held it out to me, pulling me up soon afterwards. As I examined him further, I couldn't help but notice the wavy blond hair and powerful brown eyes that defined his features. He was like something out of a magazine. Broad shoulders, powerful arms, all he was missing was a tan.

"Thanks." I muttered, brushing myself off.

He nodded. "Don't mention it. Name's Jake."

"Eli." I replied.

The conversation paused for a moment once the introductions had been concluded. We both gazed around at the masses of people surrounding us. There was still enough space to move between the crowds easily, but that was only thanks to the size of the clearing we had been placed in.

"Any idea where we are?"

I rubbed my forehead in annoyance, I could feel the beginning of a headache coming on. "Notchcraft."

He furrowed his brow at my words. "You don't mea-"

"Woah! Yes, hello! Over here! The amazingly attractive god in the sky. Can I have your attention please?" A voice boomed, cutting the boy off. The clearing fell silent as every pair of eyes were directed towards the suspended figure, hovering high above us. "Welcome to Notchcraft!" He declared blatantly.

It took a few seconds for people to comprehend his words, but once they had… A series of angry voices rang out above the now agitated gossip that ran rampant through the audience. One voice ragged particularly louder than the rest. "What the fuck do you mean, welcome to Notchcraft!? This isn't what we signed up for!"

Notch grinned and motioned his hand across his throat. The noise dropped to zero in an instant, the furious spectators seeming to lose their voices halfway through their outburst. "Well actually, it is." He gazed around the clearing. "Hands up, who read the fine print in terms and conditions?"

The crowd remained still, seething at the man. Of course none of us had read it. We were _gamers, _we didn't read the fine print, we just scrolled to the bottom and hit accept. Which was _exactly _what I had done. I mentally kicked myself for being so ignorant.

The god like being continued. "So, here we are. Let me explain the basics." He splayed his fingers, crossing them into each other. "This server contains over two million players from all over the globe. The population has been divided up into sets of ten thousand, which is the exact number of people in this here clearing, excluding myself. These sets I have dubbed as nations, but I'll come back to that later." He paused momentarily to see if we were following.

The overload of information continued. "Now this is the fun part. All the basic rules of Minecraft, apply here, but keep in mind that a lot has been changed through the last update. For example, I've already witnessed someone breaking their fingers while attempting to punch down a tree, it was hilarious. The point is, physics here are almost the same as they are on Earth."

He rubbed at his neck, as if trying to remember something miscellaneous. "Oh, if you die here don't expect to respawn. Furthermore, don't expect to wake up in front of your computer, suicide is not the answer."

"Then how do we get out of here?" I asked over the silence.

Notch looked down at me, somewhat confused. "You… Shouldn't be able to talk…" It was obvious that his curiosity was piqued, but he answered my question regardless. "There are two different options. One, kill me, which I'm sure the majority of you are already plotting. Or two, be the last nation remaining.

"Does that mean we have to…" My query trailed off as I began to regret uttering it.

"Yes. That means you have to strike down every other person, one by one, until the people around you are the only ones that remain."

Silence.

The only response his statement received was the subtle breeze that swayed the grass beneath our feet. Notch, the man I once looked up to as a brilliant programmer and a visionary… Was a cold blooded sadist. The thought of taking someone's life made me sick, there was no way I could bring myself to do it…

I stared up at him, the one who played god. Asking the only question that really mattered. "Why?"

He smiled, a grim and catastrophic smile. "For fun."

And with that, he was gone.

* * *

**Author Note:**

Damn, that cliff hanger though. So, what'd you think? Terrible? Brilliant? Something else entirely? Regardless, let me know.

I'll write the next few chapters, but if there isn't much interest after that then I'll just kill everyone off and declare the end. Quite honestly, at this point I'm not sure how often I'll update as I don't want to let down my followers on Endergirl, but I'll be sure to upload as soon as possible.

'Till next time.

\- Sylent


	2. All bark and no bite

**Author Note:**

Whooo, chapter two. First, big thanks to the reviewers (Especially Vicchavez and VoidWalker.) and those who set the story as a favourite. You guys are the best. Although admittedly, one of you called me out.

Yes, I may or may not have taken an inkling (More like a gigantic chunk.) of inspiration from a certain anime series. Why? Because I thought it might be fun to spin the idea off in a new light. Don't worry, I'm not going to make it too similar, in fact most of my time goes into thinking about how to make the story more original. One of the ways I had planned to do this was through the use of nations, which a few of you seemed a little apprehensive about. I'm not going to ditch the idea just yet, but I'll try and make it something you can be proud of.

On with the story!

* * *

**All bark and no bite.**

It was amazing how quickly everything turned to shit.

After the tranquillity of silent horror passed, voices began rising. It was unclear who started the uproar, but before long there was an argument springing up between every person in sight. The unrecognisable ocean of noise raged onwards for what seemed an eternity. By this point, there were shoves and insults being thrown in every direction. The situation teetered dangerously on the edge of full-fledged violence.

"Listen up!" A powerful voice yelled out, not too far away.

I looked over to find the blond haired boy who had helped me up. He stood surely atop the carcass of a fallen tree. Briefly, I wondered at the origin of the object. It was the only one of its kind within the clearing, placed almost exactly in its centre…

The crowd quietened a bit, but not nearly enough for him to begin speaking.

"I said listen up!" He boomed above the noise, his voice carrying across the wind. This time, the cascade of noise died down to only the occasional whisper. The one who had introduced himself as Jake took a breath before continuing. "This is not the time to start getting at each other's throats! We can do that later!" His tone dropped a little. "I get it, alright. You're scared. Hell, I'm scared. But take a look around you! This is fucking Minecraft! The game we know better than anything." The boy paused to let his words sink in. He had managed to say a lot in only a few sentences, it would seem he was quite the dramatic speaker. "Now, what's the first thing we always do in Minecraft?"

A moment passed before someone yelled out in response. "Getting wood!"

Jake smirked a little at the reference. "Damn straight. Pull off some branches, make yourself a simple hatchet, and let's see if we can't make this clearing a little bigger."

The crowd seemed unsure, something was holding them back… "Who put you in charge?" A burly looking teen asked.

The question was instantly taken in by the others. Why were they listening to a high school student? Although he would have been one of the oldest people present, that didn't give him the right to start ordering us around.

Jake nodded calmly. "Let's have a vote then. We can't get much done without a leader, so if you think you've got what it takes to protect the lives of ten thousand people, raise your hand."

A deadly silence passed over the massive group, which had huddled closer to listen in on Jake's announcement. After a couple of seconds, five people had nominated themselves, including the blond haired boy and the one who had questioned him.

The acting speaker pointed to the nominee furthest away. "If you are comfortable putting your life in that man's hands, speak now."

This was an interesting way of doing it… But it was smart. Clearly, everybody here was a stranger to one another, he was taking advantage of that simple fact. Not a single person spoke as the man's time ticked down. Before long, he lowered his hand. Jake continued through the remaining candidates one by one, all producing the same result. Finally, there was only one option… But if he concluded with that, it wouldn't be fair… What was his plan?

"And that leaves me. Somebody needs to make a decision. If you think that I have what it takes, speak."

I stared at him, wondering what would happen when he yielded the same result as the others. His gaze fell from the expanses of people to just one. His proud brown eyes looking at me expectantly. I couldn't help but smirk. So this was his scheme? With one vote, he could become the leader of the entire nation, and he looked to me for it?

I considered the options. Without a leader we would plunge back into the senseless fear fuelled arguments and soon disperse across the world, leaving us susceptible to extermination. That was, of course, if the other nations decided to take part in this crude game of death. But was this guy really the right one to lead us? I had barely met him and he was already relying on me. Then again, he seemed confident and capable…

I sighed. He had planned this out well. I only had one option. "I vote for him."

The people around me turned and stared, trying to see through my motives. It wasn't long before another voice called out in agreement, and another, and another. Soon there was a chorus of votes confirming his position. I shook my head in disbelief as he grinned at me, triumph filling his eyes.

I hope I had made the right decision.

* * *

With ten thousand people, it was no wonder we had varying types of skills available. A design tech major already had orders piling up for his wooden hatchets. I was one of the first to have received one and I couldn't help but admire his handiwork. It was simple and imperfect but it still retained a broad axe head and a thick handle to grip onto. Considering the only tool at his disposal was a single sharpened stone, it was quite impressive.

I pulled the axe over my shoulder, slamming it down at the base of the tree. Subconsciously, I had selected an oak that stood a little further removed from the other makeshift lumberjacks. It would seem that the habits of a loner refused to dissipate despite a change in dimensions. My back ached, still covered in bruises. The beating I had taken during practice seemed so far away now, like it had all occurred years ago… It couldn't have been far past eight o' clock back in the real world, but here the sun still radiated the brightness of midday.

We would have to work quickly if we hoped to have shelter before nightfall. From here I could see Jake laying out plans on the grass, trailed by a small entourage of followers. Well, at least he had a plan. I pulled my axe back again and brought it down against the rough bark, chipping it a little further. My shoulder complained vigorously, I rubbed at it, trying to rearrange the muscle.

My fingers brushed over something. Something that didn't belong… I pulled my sleeve up and gazed at the black mark on my skin. The jet black ink of a tattoo coiled across my shoulder to form three simple digits.

_015_

I was confused, to say the least. How long had the brand been there? I certainly didn't have it when I was on Earth. But what purpose would the number fifteen serve when it was embedded in my skin?

"It's our nation number." Somebody answered, a slight French accent tinging their voice.

I looked up to find a guy, near my age, landing the first blow on a tree a few yards away. Short cropped black hair covered his head, seeming a little out of place on the lanky form.

"Nation number?" I asked.

He nodded, turning to me. "That's what we figure, everyone has the same mark."

I returned my gaze to the tattoo like brand. Fifteen, huh? If there were two million people pulled into this world… "What's two million divided by ten thousand?"

The Frenchman thought for a minute. "Two hundred?"

I let go a sigh of realisation. Two hundred other nations… If even one of them decided to become vicious, it would plunge the remainder into war.

"Don't sound so depressed." He took a few steps towards me, extending his hand. "I'm Émile."

I shook it. "Eli. Where are you from?"

"America, surprisingly enough. But my father owns a vineyard in France, hence the accent." He replied, returning to his tree and taking another swing at it.

A time passed as we both continued with our work. The gentle breeze that rolled from the plain behind us sent shivers across my skin. It was relaxing. All I wanted to do was lay down and enjoy the promising wind as it made its way across the earth and through my hair, continuing off into the forest before us. But this wasn't the time for relaxing. If we didn't make significant progress, lives would be at stake.

"Do you have any idea what he's planning?"

I looked back to Émile, who was staring over at Jake as he paced around the clearing. "Not the faintest. But at least he's getting things done." I replied, watching as several more logs were rolled towards the growing stockpile.

That was how a leader worked after all. We didn't need to know the plan, we just needed to follow his instructions. That way there would be no argument over what we should do. Interestingly enough, I saw him notice me as he turned around. He waved, beckoning me over from my job. I raised an eyebrow, but didn't hesitate to start towards him.

"Nice meeting you." I called over my shoulder.

"Likewise." The Frenchman replied.

The fresh grass crumpled underfoot, springing back up as soon as I stepped away. It was breathtaking, how beautiful the area really was. Endless blue skies, a bright green plain surrounded by thick forest. It was difficult not to become distracted as I covered the distance between Jake and myself.

"Eli, was it?" He asked, as soon as I arrived.

A little uncomfortable that he had already forgotten my name, I couldn't help feel overlooked. "Y- Yeah."

He instantly recognised my discomfort. "Sorry, I've had names being thrown at me for the past few hours." Pausing, he continued. "We've run into a small problem."

"A problem?"

He nodded gravely. "I had aimed to have a wall up before nightfall, large enough for everyone to fit inside comfortably. But at this rate…" His sentence trailed off, implying the rest.

"How many will you be able to get in?" I asked, worried.

"Maybe four thousand?"

A feeling of dread pummelled into the pit of my stomach. "That's not even half…"

"And therein lies the problem." He concluded. "Now, it's possible that there might not even be mobs in this world, as nobody has seen one yet. But I don't want to take any chances." He pointed off into the woods. "I've been told there's a cave entrance not too far away. I don't have a weapon to give you, so if you see a mob, come straight back and we'll figure something else out. But if it looks safe, we'll move the remaining people over there for the night."

"Right…" I replied sceptically, looking off into the overgrowth.

He clasped my shoulder, making me wince and snap my gaze back to him. "You're injured?" He asked, removing his hand quickly.

"I'll live."

He nodded, looking at me a little differently. Respect maybe? "Be careful."

Sensing my dismissal, I started towards the edge of the woods. Where the trees appeared peaceful and relaxed before, they now seemed dark and foreboding. I knew it was just my imagination, exaggerating the dangers that could be lurking behind every branch, but knowing so did nothing to put me at ease.

I paused at the line between the two biomes, starring in at the darkness. I could feel myself becoming lost within its vastness, my mind frozen before the void. Fear was a strangely hypnotic reflex. I had enough experience with it to recall that much. But it also had its virtues. Without fear there would be no bravery. Without fear our lives would be easily dispensable. Without fear humans couldn't function.

I swallowed. That didn't make it any less terrifying.

Taking the first step was the most difficult, but once I had accomplished the small feat, I found it easier to continue. Apart from the occasional flower, there was a surprising lack of shrubbery. Normally I would have expected thick grass and tangled vines, reaching out to trip me like something from a low budget horror movie. Instead the wild grass was short, as though had been recently mown.

By now my eyes had adjusted to the dim surroundings, allowing me to easily notice the subtle streams of sunlight that found their way through the gently swaying leaves. Somebody had put a lot of effort into these graphics…

My thoughts still ran rampant around the scenario. How was this possible? To be sucked into a game… It sounded like something from a third rate fan fiction. But it couldn't be helped. There was only one person who could answer my questions, and I had a feeling he was busy with other things.

In my lapse of thought, I almost fell right into the cave which I had been searching for. The wide opening in the ground seemed a little out of place, almost as if it was a sinkhole created by a freak of nature. Still, it was what I had come looking for. The shadow cast within its depths was not something that my eyes would easily adjust to. Entering like this would leave me blind and vulnerable. I needed a light source.

I scanned the area around me. Coal would be the easiest option. But to get coal I needed a pickaxe… I heard something snap behind me. Panicking, I spun around just in time to see a wooden staff flying towards my head. With reflexes I didn't know I had, I caught onto the incoming weapon, holding it above me.

I followed the length of the polished stick, my eyes falling onto its owner. A girl, she was shorter than me, but her curves indicated a similar age to myself. Short and wild blonde hair, golden streaks flowing through towards the ends. Her face, soft and well defined. Deep blue eyes, coloured with what could only be the ocean itself. She wore baggy black cargo pants and a white tank top. A jumper hung around her neck and a small leather satchel by her waist. But written on her shoulder, printed in a familiar black ink, was the reason she had attacked me.

_016_

She slammed a fist into my stomach, taking me a little by surprise but not really having much affect. Glancing up at me with a provoked fear, she tried again, packing a little more punch this time. But compared to the torture I endured through my club practice, it was nothing.

Letting the staff fall to the ground, I placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect, causing her to twist and struggle in my grip. "Let go of me pervert!" She yelled.

"I'm not going to hurt you." I retorted.

"Bullshit!"

I took her other shoulder and held her firmly, waiting. It was a time, but eventually her movements started to slow, before stopping all together. She looked down at the grass underfoot, resigned that she could do nothing to escape. I watched her carefully. Apparently all bark and no bite. Slowly, I removed my hands from her warm skin, letting her stand on her own.

Her gaze flickered up to me, a small speck of hope renewed in her eyes. I smiled back. "I'm not going to hurt you."

She seemed to consider my words, still a little sceptical. "Why not?"

I shrugged. "I don't want to hurt anyone."

Her head tilted to the side a bit. "I don't either… I just thought…"

I nodded. "I know." For her, it was impossible to win a fair fight. She obviously didn't have the strength to match her resolve. If she didn't surprise the enemy, she wouldn't stand a chance. Which was why she had been trying to sneak up on me. I could have been hostile or friendly, but when an ambush is your only option, it's better to strike first and ask questions later. Or at least, that was the conclusion I had reached. "What are you doing here?"

She took a step away from me, still wary. "Looking for a place for my nation to spend the night."

"Same. Is your spawn point very far from here?" Her eyes portrayed warning signals, I instantly realised my mistake. "Sorry, don't tell me that."

She returned her gaze to the ground, a strand of gold falling across her face. She was beautiful, really. A little awkward and a bit violent, but still beautiful. "S- Since we're both here for the same reason… Let's check out this cave, and we can go back to being enemies afterwards."

I looked down into the dark pit. "Yeah, it might help to have someone watching our backs. But I don't have a torc-" The girl removed something from her satchel and threw it to me. Only just managing to catch it, I turned it over, examining the object. "Where'd you get this?"

"There's ruins littering the landscape, I found most of what I have in them."

"Ruins…" I echoed to myself, trailing off into thought. Ruins of what? A past civilization? Or maybe we weren't the first to play this game… Regardless, I would have to go searching for them soon, before they were raided by the other nations. Having any tools or materials this early would help us set up the defences we needed to survive.

Pushing the thought aside, I took a step into the cavern, my shoes landing on stone. I struck the torch I had been given against the wall, hoping for the best. A spark erupted from the coal, consuming it in flame within seconds. Notch had said this worlds physics were the same as Earths, but after the short spectacle I doubted they were _exactly_ the same. I looked over my shoulder to the mysterious girl. She seemed hesitant, but soon filed in behind me, picking up the staff as she went.

"Ready?" I asked.

She nodded in response.

Turning back to the task ahead, I calmed myself. This would either lead to a short and painful death, or be the beginning to a new life. I took a step forwards.

We plunged into the darkness.

* * *

**Author Note:**

How ominous. So how did I go? Did I make the nations seem more interesting? What about this mysterious girl?

If you've read any of my other works you'll notice that I always value your input to the highest. If you suggest something, I'm going to seriously consider it, even if its absolutely ridiculous. And any advice is almost just as good. After all, I write these stories for you guys. Which is why I'd like to give a quick shout out to Darkrider220, who gave me two really solid suggestions. I may have done the opposite of them, but I took his views into consideration and tried to improve the sections he pointed out. Thank you, for your advice. :)

To all of the Endergirl fans who ventured over here. If you're wondering why my author notes are more toned down than usual, its so that we can rope in new readers, getting them hooked on the story before they realise how bat shit crazy I am.

Till next time.

\- Sylent


	3. We have to kill her

**Author Note:**

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Chapter three. *Sandstorm plays in the background.*

Yes, chapter three took me a little longer than usual, but that's only because I've been working on chapter fifteen for Endergirl, which I'm about to release _right_ after this. Not to mention I've run out of chocolate...

So as always, thank you to the reviewers and favouriters and followers. I will be responding to comments in the bottom author note.

Till then, ignore the fact that 'favouriters' isn't a word, and enjoy the story.

* * *

**"We have to kill her."**

The flame crackled in the silence.

A silence so deafening that even the slightest pin drop snapped the attention of both myself, and the girl from sixteen, towards its source. We had followed the descending tunnel for what seemed like an age, a speck of sunlight from the entrance only just visible behind us. The floor was uneven, forcing us to constantly watch our footing.

The blonde haired girl hung behind me, unsure of whether to stay close, or keep her distance. I didn't blame her for the lack of trust. She had a lot of gear that I would prosper from taking, not to mention killing her would increase my nation's chances of victory by one. But even if I wanted to, I doubt I could bring myself to hurt her.

Unexpectedly, the ground levelled out, causing my next step to become a little unbalanced. I managed to maintain my composure, my companion however, did not. With a small yelp of surprise she tripped forwards. It was all I could do to catch the flailing girl, wrapping my arm around her and pulling her back to her feet.

She stood still for a second, before pushing away from me. I smirked at her lack of manners, not that I really wanted any gratitude. Raising the torch into the air, the light cast sharp shadows from our surroundings.

We stood within a large cavern, larger than could be covered by the flickering light. It stretched onwards for a time, shaping out and caving in at odd angles. But it was spacious. I pressed forwards, anxious to ensure it was safe.

A rattle in the darkness. I stopped dead in my tracks. That sound…

Something flew through the air with a devastating speed. There was no time to react before loud thwack sent pain spiralling through my nerves. I looked down to find a chipped and rustic arrow shaft proceeding from the corner of my chest, the head planted solidly beneath my skin.

I groaned as I reached for the object, snapping it off in one sudden movement, prompting a gush of crimson. I looked over at sixteen, who stared at me, horrified. "Staff."

It took her a moment to process the request. She was obviously unaccustomed to the sight of blood. She blinked, returning a little to reality. Glancing down at the weapon first, she quickly passed it to me.

Taking the long hardwood stick in hand, I moved quickly. I tried to ignore the agony that overwhelmed my senses as I threw the light source into the centre of the room, illuminating its entirety.

The creature that stood rigidly against the back wall, was far from a pleasant sight. A cracked and disjointed bone structure clumped together awkwardly, standing on thin legs as if possessed by some demonic force. As I watched, it seemed to quake, the grey highlights trembling against each other to create that all too familiar rattling. Eyes, a soulless black, destroying light rather than processing it. Within its delicate grasp sat a tattered bow, curved at the ends to make it all the more powerful. And over its splintered shoulder hung a torn leather quiver, filled to the brim with duplicate arrows.

Its existence sent a shiver down my spine. This world was truly an abomination. Before another arrow could be strung, I sprinted forwards, swinging the staff out to the side. The creature moved with a surprising speed, notching another arrow and drawing the string back to its cheekbone.

I swerved to my right, letting the barb sail past me, leaving a small nick on my jaw. I bounded forwards, crashing into the hostile figure and hurtling to the ground. It struggled beneath me, shifting this way and that, trying to escape.

With only the instinct to survive coursing through my veins, I slammed the end of my weapon down into its skull. A sickening crack echoed around the cavern, but the possessed form still fought back. The polished staff made contact again.

And again.

And again.

And again…

Silence.

I knelt over the crushed remains. There was not a hint of life left in the once animated bones. It lay still, its carcass scattered across the floor. Why… had I done that? It was as if my instincts had taken over my entire body, no room for thought. There must have been other ways… Ways to avoid conflict… Right?

I stared down at the lifeless body for a time, only returning to reality when I felt a hand placed softly on top of my head. I looked up a little to find my companion standing above me, her eyes drowned in fear and concern. Afraid of me, but also worried.

"You okay?" She mumbled.

"Y- Yeah…" I returned my gaze to the ground, not too sure of my answer.

We didn't move for a time, our eyes transfixed on the remains before us. Her fingers ruffled my hair a little, before sliding away. "Let's finish what we came her to do."

She was brave. Most girls I knew wouldn't even set foot in this pit, let alone push through a confrontation with death.

I pushed myself back to my feet, wincing as I remembered the injury I had taken. Sighing, I looked over to the girl. "You might not want to look at this."

She nodded, but watched closely anyway. Pursing my lips, I dug my fingers into the wound. A fresh wave of agony ricocheted through my body as I searched through the muscle. Blood streamed down my chest, staining my already red shirt with a new shade. Finally, I latched onto my goal, tearing it from my system. The iron arrowhead clattered to the floor, bouncing briefly before coming to rest.

I breathed in rapidly, taking in new air whilst trying to expel pain. Struggling, I slipped my shirt off. The blonde haired girl looked away as I did, obviously embarrassed. I would have been too, if it weren't for the amount of blood I was losing. I hurried to tear the garment into a single long strip, which I wrapped tightly across the wound. "Can you…"

She looked to where the two ends of cloth sat untied on my back. I couldn't exactly reach it myself. Slowly, she secured a sturdy knot. I flinched as she pulled it tight. "Sorry." She mumbled. I heard her gasp as she studied the rest of my skin, undoubtedly noticing the mess of bruises that covered it. "How were you walking around like this?"

Unsure of what to say, I crouched to pick up the skeletons fallen armament. I studied the curved frame, briefly recalling the archery unit we covered in physical education. Mind you, the whole class had come to an end when someone took an arrow to the knee. Long ranged attacks… "Do you know how to use one of these?" I asked her.

She glanced at me briefly, noticing that I hadn't answered her question. "I know the basic principle behind them…"

In other words, she had no idea. "If you learnt how to use it, there wouldn't be a need to get close to your enemies." She seemed sceptical, either doubting my explanation, or her ability to use the weapon. I looked down at her satchel, and then around at the now empty cavern. "I'll teach you how to use it."

She tilted her head at me, curious. "What's the catch?"

"Lend me a few more torches."

The girl considered the options for a moment, trying to decide if a weapon which she didn't know how to use, would be more valuable than a light source. It occurred to me that it wasn't exactly the best deal for her…

It was hard to see what was going through her head. The way her eyes flickered like clockwork, ticking this way and that. They focused again, staring up at me. "You're surprisingly stable for someone who was just shot."

Shrugging, I held out a hand to her. "Deal?"

Ignoring my outstretched palm, she reached into her bag, handing me three more torches. "Deal."

I smirked at her lack of manners for the second time that day, unable to tell if she was rude, or just clueless. Taking my side of the bargain, I proceeded to prop them up against the walls, striking them as I went. By the time I had finished, the room was lit well enough to see every corner.

I turned back to her. "Let's head back up."

We started up the incline that lead to the surface, the dot of sunlight slowly becoming larger. Both of us slipped and fumbled our footing more than once, but somehow we managed to eventually hall ourselves onto the soft grass of the over world.

We lay in the breeze for a moment, exhausted from the long climb. It was well into the afternoon, the sun only a few hours away from the horizon. "Are you going to have enough time to get back?" I asked, a little worried.

A faint smile crossed her lips. She stared up at the sky, which was only slightly concealed by the wavering leaves above. "I should just make it, if I leave soon."

I followed her gaze, enjoying the endless shade of blue for a moment. The fresh air reminded me that I was still alive, letting out the stress and anxiety that had slowly built up over the period of the day. Sighing, I pushed myself up and held my hand out for my companion.

Her eyes examined me for a moment, softly, as if finally believing that I meant her no harm. She placed her hand in mine, allowing me to pull her up. I rested the bow in her grasp and pointed her towards the nearest tree. She took an arrow, and I showed her how to notch it onto the string. I adjusted her grip and her aim, before stopping myself.

We were close…

I was pressed up against her, my bare chest brushing against her back. My arms were wrapped around her figure, guiding her movements. As I paused, I felt her quick intake of breath as she seemed to make the same observation. We stood still for a moment, neither one of us daring to speak.

Swallowing, I pulled back the bowstring, her fingers resting underneath mine. The grey fletching of the arrow brushed against her cheek. "Release."

The string slipped from our grasp, sending the projectile flying towards its target.

A small thud echoed around the forest as the arrow implanted itself in the bark, sending a few splinters falling to the ground. We seemed to let out our pent up breath simultaneously, as if still synced in our movements.

Freezing for a second more, the girl nudged me with her elbow, pushing me back a little. "I- I'll try on my own…"

Words escaping me, I simply nodded, trying to ignore how cold I was now that I had been separated from the warmth of her skin. Although, I thought I noticed her tremble slightly in the breeze as well… It might have just been my imagination.

Taking another arrow, she drew the string back. Her arm quivered as she struggled with the force, unable to rely on my help anymore. With a last ditch effort, she hauled the string back to her cheek and let the ammo fly, aiming was something she didn't have time for.

She missed her mark by a few feet, sending the arrow far into the overgrowth. She let down the bow slowly, before looking at me. "It's harder than I thought."

"Just keep practicing, you'll be a natural in no ti-"

I cut off my sentence as I heard voices nearby. I searched through the gathering of trees for their source. A group of young teens filed through the woodlands, short wooden blades grasped in their hands. I recognised their faces briefly, so they must have been from my nation.

When one of them caught sight of me, he beckoned the whole group to stop in their tracks. At first his friends were confused, but they soon caught onto where his attention lay. "Who are you?" One of them asked, a curly haired boy.

Not seeing a reason to say otherwise, I spoke up. "Eli, I'm on orders from Jake."

The one who had asked nodded. "We were sent to find you, Jake was…" His sentence trailed off as he caught a glimpse of the girl who stood behind me. "Who's she?"

"She's…" I looked back at her, realising that she had never given me her name. My eyes flickered to the number on her shoulder. Almost instantly, I realised why she seemed to be hiding behind me. I turned back to the group of boys, who seemed anxious to test out their new blades. "She's a friend."

Despite his age, the phrase didn't throw him. "Then why is she hiding behind you?" When I didn't answer, he asked another question. "Which nation is she from?"

"She's just looking for somewhere to spend the night." I countered.

His grip tightened around the hilt of his short sword. "So she's not from our nation?"

"Does it matter?"

"We have to kill her." Another boy spoke up, obviously ignorant to what his words meant.

Surprised and a little annoyed, I almost shouted my response. "Are you serious? Nobody is killing anyone. We're going to find another way out of this game."

The boy stepped forwards, shaking his head. "There is no other way out."

I felt the girl from sixteen cling a little closer to me, scared. Anybody would be, if someone was threatening to murder you in cold blood. "We don't know that yet!" I tried to reason with him.

He pushed forwards, readying his sword. "Move." I held my ground, staring down the figure that was at least a head shorter than me. "Move!" He repeated, anger rising in his voice.

When I didn't, he rushed forwards, blade outstretched to pierce me. I kicked the weapon from his hands, flinging it to the ground. I caught onto his collar and hauled him upwards to peer into his eyes. My injuries complained, but I paid them no heed.

I let anger seep into my every word. "_Don't_ touch her."

His face dropped in fear. He twisted in my grasp but was unable to escape. I threw the form backwards, letting him land heavily on the grass. His friends backed up a bit, assessing the situation. If all four of them rushed me… My chances of fending them off were minimal.

I looked over my shoulder to my companion. "You should go."

She nodded, refusing to look at me. "Th- Thanks…"

The corners of my mouth curved upwards slightly. "Stay alive."

"You too." She replied, finally meeting my gaze.

Glancing at the boys before us, she broke away from me. Securing the quiver of arrows across her chest, she held onto her bow tightly as she turned and walked a few paces. She stopped and looked back at me.

I smiled, trying to hide the disheartened feeling that nipped at my mind. This would probably be the last time we saw each other. After all, it seemed our nations were bound to become enemies. The ghost of a smile was reflected back to me before she turned once more, disappearing into the woodlands.

Letting out a sigh, I examined the small space around me. The kids stood on edge, unsure of what to do. The trees still wavered in the wind, unchanged by the events that took place underneath their branches. Something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. I took a few steps, leaning down to retrieve the object, my every move being watched.

I smirked as I stood, and strode past the small group, staff in hand.

She never _had _given me her name.

* * *

**Author Note:**

*Whistles* Damn... Things are starting to heat up. Fair warning, I'm beginning to get to the point where feedback is needed if you want the story to continue. I've got a whole heap of ideas spiralling and you're always welcome to suggest new ones, but lack of motivation is often my downfall. So review! Even if you're just here to say, "That was the largest pile of crap I've seen since I last ate Taco Bell." or alternatively, "Not bad. *Insert Obama meme here.*"

I DON'T CARE. FEEEEEDBAAAAACK.

Ahem. Now, onto reviews.

Thamiir Davis: Surprise! Nations 15 and 16 already hate each other! Hahahaha. And hey, I'd love to hear your suggestions, if they work, we can definitely implement them.  
The Bet Guest: I tried to implement your suggestion, although in a not so glorious way. How'd I do?  
WiseguyJaco: That's dark man, but you're totally right. Which is why she _almost _got killed off. Close enough?  
Chase1998: Woah, woah, woah... Careful there, let's not go making enemies. :D But thanks Chase, your support is always uplifting.  
Darkrider220: Thank god, I'm glad you approve. Criticism is the key to improvement, so thank you for helping out. :)

And that concludes the reviews section! Now, I'm off to post the next chapter for Endergirl, and after that I'm going to work on a story for a friend. So, take care, get some sleep and don't die.

\- Sylent


	4. Only tonight

**Author Note:**

I was trying to think of something funny to write here, but I could only come up with a single joke.

My future.

HAHAhaAhAhahahahaahahaaaaahaaaa... Haaa... Ahem.

Enjoy.

* * *

**"Only tonight."**

It was impressive how much progress had been made since I left. A large wooden wall was nearing its final stages of construction within the centre of the clearing, curving around to create an almost perfect circle. It was fashioned out of sharpened logs, which stuck out of the ground menacingly. A small group of rocks and boulders had been rolled up against the base of the structure, supporting it further. It appeared sturdy, well made. The monument only proved how effective good leadership was.

"Christ, what happened to you?" Our leader asked as I approached.

I could understand his concern. Dried blood was caked down one side of my chest, my makeshift bandage now sopping with the crimson substance. As usual, my back and shoulders were still covered in bruises, although their pain had subsided a little since that morning.

"A girl from another nation shot him!" One of the kids, who had followed me all the way back to the clearing, announced.

Jake seemed shocked. I rolled my eyes. "That's not what happened."

Shooing the kids away, he turned to me, his gaze narrowing. "You met someone from another nation?" I nodded once before he continued. "Did you…" He dragged a finger across his throat, implying the rest of the sentence.

I tilted my head at him, unsure of which answer he would be more pleased by. "Of course I didn't."

He pursed his lips, then smiled. "Good, good. We don't want to be too hasty after all." Trying to escape from the topic, he quickly started a new one. "And what about the cave?"

Still a little caught on his reaction, it took me a moment to respond. "It's big enough. A skeleton had spawned down there, but there should be enough light to stop that from happening again."

His eyes widened a bit in surprise. "You killed a skeleton?" I simply nodded, still not at all proud of striking down the creature. Jake seemed to notice my reaction and decided to bring the conversation to a close. "There's a girl around here somewhere, she's the daughter of a nurse. Get her to take a look at that wound."

Departing, I scanned the people as I passed. My first observations still held true, with most of them being teenagers or kids, the occasional young adult thrown into the mix. Again, a fair amount of them were pale, as if they had been sitting inside for the majority of their lives. I suppose those were the types to be playing Minecraft.

It didn't take me long to notice the small crowd that was gathered near the tree line. Some lay on the ground, while others stood in a haphazard line before a single girl, who knelt before the patients. She seemed pleasant enough. Long brown hair falling to just above her waist, a few solitary tangles amongst it. Green eyes, weak with exhaustion, studied whoever stood before her. Her jeans were already torn in places, as was her branded black t-shirt. But most noticeable was the plain white hoodie that was draped across her shoulders, a few specks of blood strewn across it.

The people who surrounded her were mostly kids, all bearing small cuts or scrapes. The ones that lay on the grass held their stomachs as if suffering from the plague. It was obvious that they were just sick of working though. Patiently, I took a place at the back of the line.

I could hear the kind discussion that went along with every diagnosis. The responses varied, but they mostly concluded the same way. "Another stomach ache?" Or, "I'm sorry, I don't have any medicine." And, "Go ahead and lie down."

I felt a little sorry for her, to be dealing with all of this when she couldn't really do much to help. The kid in front of me held out his arm, a small scratch disturbing the otherwise smooth skin. She examined the small line of blood as if it were a mortal injury.

"Wow, that's pretty bad huh?" She said, looking up into the child's eyes. A wooden bucket, containing water, sat next to her. She dipped her hand into it and ladled some of the substance onto the scratch. The child winced loudly, complaining whilst trying to hold back tears. "Sorry." She mumbled, whipping the blood off. She patted the water down with the sleeve of her hoodie and sat back with a smile. "There, all better."

She watched the child nod, and walk off to find his own section of grass to lie on. It was obvious how tired she was. It made me wonder what had happened over the day to exhaust her so. Turning back to the line, it took her a moment to adjust her gaze, gasping as she noticed at my injuries. She pushed to her feet and stepped closer to me, her eyes flickering over the trail of blood. I watched her scan the bruises on my shoulders and the makeshift bandage that I had already applied.

Her reaction had already gained notice from all of her patients, who stared at me in shock, their hurts suddenly forgotten. I smirked at them before returning my gaze to the girl, who now looked up at me.

Her voice came out nervous and light. "W- What happened?"

"Shot by a skeleton." She seemed horrified before glancing at the wooden staff in my grasp. I had forgotten I was even carrying the weapon. "It looks worse than I do." I assured her.

She nodded quickly, but the action did nothing to convince me that her nervousness had dissipated. "Is it… Is it still bleeding?"

"You've never dealt with something like this, have you?" I asked, unsurprised. She glanced up at me, a little guiltily. I laughed. "It's alright, just see if you can get the bandage off. Don't worry about the bruises."

She nodded, and walked around me, her fingers hesitating for a moment before tugging at the knot. I stifled a wince as pain shot through my shoulder. "Sorry." She mumbled, apparently well versed with the phrase.

Slowly, she unwrapped the cloth. It was stiff with dried blood, meaning it stuck to the skin in some places. Eventually, with a bit of struggle, she dropped the crimson garment to the ground, revealing the wound. "Is the arrow head still in there?" Her voice had become more stable now, recovered from the initial shock.

"I dug it out."

The corner of her mouth tilted upwards a bit. "Can you even feel pain?"

I laughed a little. "Don't get me wrong, it hurt like a bitch."

She sighed, examining the amount of blood that coated my chest and abs. "It needs to be washed…"

It was clear enough that the small amount of water contained within her bucket was not going to suffice. Briefly I recalled my plummet from the sky that morning. This clearing bordered on a small cove, which opened onto a vast ocean.

"Could you spare a moment?"

She glanced around at the dozen or so kids, who now hid their minor injuries in shame. She pursed her lips before smiling a little. "Sure."

* * *

It didn't take us long to traverse the small amount of forest that separated the grasslands and the cove. We stood on the border between the forest greenery and the soft beach sand, staring out at the subtle waves. The water was an alluring blue, reflecting the dwindling light to create a brilliant mosaic of colour.

I couldn't help but feel as if I had seen the sight before… This mix of a pure navy and speckled gold… The thought was pushed from my head as the girl beside me took a tentative step forwards. She seemed transfixed on the view before her, staring in awe at its beauty.

"I've never seen the ocean before." She explained.

I smiled before following her onto the golden dune. "Know how to swim?"

Her head turned back to me. "Well enough. But I don't have any…" Her sentence trailed off as I started undoing my belt. She became alarmed instantly. "What are you doing?"

I could only laugh as I realised what it must have looked like. Within the day, I had sky dived without a parachute, conversed with a god, elected a leader, foiled an ambush, been shot with an arrow, and fought a monster that shouldn't exist. If anything, there had been too many near death experiences to care about embarrassment.

I dropped my jeans to the ground, my black briefs being the only thing that remained. "Salt water is good for a wound, or so I've heard."

And with that, I strode towards the water, wading in a distance before diving underneath its surface. The echoing silence of the vast depths surrounded me. It was cold, refreshing. I felt the gentle current wash through my hair, sweeping it backwards. The hole between my shoulder and my chest stung as the liquid brushed against it. I pushed back to the surface, taking a breath and floating onto my back.

"You coming in?" I asked, staring up at the darkening sky.

I heard her shift nervously from the shoreline. "Don't look."

"I'm not."

The sound of fabric sliding from skin was just barely audible over the ebb and flow of the ocean. I would be lying if I said I wasn't tempted to look at her, but I kept my gaze fixed on the few clouds above.

I started a conversation in an attempt to put her at ease. "What's your name?"

"Julia." She answered after a time.

A small splash not so far away announced her entry. I righted myself to see her bob up a few feet away. The water was clear enough to show her exposed shoulders, but nothing more. She shied away a little, but spoke up nonetheless. "What's yours?"

"Eli."

She smiled before continuing. "So, why did you drag me out here?"

I smirked. "It looked like you could use a break. Not to mention, I thought it might help if you could examine the injury once the blood was cleared away."

Nodding, she brushed her hair from her face, pushing it behind her ear. "Thanks…"

I waded for a time, just enjoying the sensation of being submerged. Eventually, I shifted towards the shore until I found it easy enough to stand. The water rose gently just above my waist. I cupped a handful and brushed at the caked blood that hadn't already been washed away. It was easy enough to reach the parts that ran down my side, but my back and shoulders…

Hesitant fingertips brushed against my skin. I stiffened a little and glanced over my shoulder. Julia stood behind me, looking over my injuries once more. I only had a chance to see a glimpse of black before she noticed me, her face turning bright red.

"No looking."

I snapped my gaze forwards, guiltily. "S- Sorry."

Her fingers traced the bumps and ridges softly. "How did you get these?"

I sighed. "There are some pretty terrifying seniors at my school."

She flinched a little. "You've had these all day?" I remained quite while she continued her examination. "You must be strong…"

My mind flashed back to all of the fights I had been caught in, all of the beatings I had taken. I had learnt how to defend myself from serious injury… But pain was unavoidable. "Only through being weak."

I could feel her gaze upon me as she listened to my words. "Turn around. But c- close your eyes!"

A small chuckle escaped me as I followed her orders. A moment passed before she moved, but eventually, she traced the wound with her fingertips. The pain had dulled substantially since the arrow had pierced my skin, but it was hard to stop myself from wincing when she grazed the torn flesh.

"Sorry." She mumbled once more. I heard her exhale slightly. "Injuries heal quicker here."

I was a little taken aback at her words. "How quickly?"

"Well, based on what I've seen, minor damages only last a few hours. But something this bad… I've got no idea."

"Any chance of infection?"

She paused for a moment, thinking. "The salt should help, although I'm not sure how effective it will be. But, a few days of rest and you should be fine." Her hand splayed across my chest, pushing me backwards into the water.

The ocean surrounded me. I stumbled before pushing back to the surface. I grinned at the girl, who stared back at me playfully. My eyes wavered slightly, before traveling downwards. A black push up bra covered her chest, which was… Substantially large for a girl her age. Her sides curved inwards slightly before broadening around her waist, where another hint of black was just visible beneath the surface.

When my gaze returned to where it should have stayed, I was met with wide eyes and an unparalleled blush. "Y- y- y- you l- looked!"

I bit my tongue, trying to stifle a laugh. It was no use. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

She covered the distance between us in a few short strides before pushing me down into the water once more. I rose back to the surface quickly, and lightly tackled her into the waves, prompting a small yelp of surprise. She laughed as we resurfaced, although her cheeks had not paled by a single shade.

The girl separated from my grasp, letting my hands slide from her waist as she splashed water at me. Her eyes had brightened slightly since I first saw her, the exhaustion at leave for the moment. It was refreshing to see her having fun, even if I hadn't known her for more than an hour or so. She turned in the water, floating on its surface and staring into the sky. There was just something about her energy that made her enjoyable to watch…

My senses snapped to alert as I watched her body become ridged, the playful attitude gone in an instant. "Eli…" I watched her carefully as she spoke. "How long has it been this dark?"

My eyes flickered to the sky above. A foreign constellation gazed down upon us. Under normal circumstances I might have considered the stars beautiful, but tonight they could be nothing other than maleficent. I pushed gently over to the girl, trying to minimize the amount of noise I made. "We have to leave, now."

Her expression had dropped, she was scared, but still managed to nod before righting herself in the water. My vision swept over to the shoreline, now shrouded in darkness. Everything was quiet… Too quiet. There was no constant buzz of unknown insects, nor drowsy calls of hunting night birds. Just…

Silence.

Julia took my hand beneath the water. Being just as scared as she was, I dared not let go. Taking a hesitant step forwards, I pulled her along with me. It was a terrifying few moments before we stood firmly on the sand, which stuck to our skin like glue. I looked over at Julia, nodding to her.

She returned the gesture, despite being afraid. We separated quickly while we pulled on our clothes. Briefly, I noted that if I survived, I'd have to do something about my lack of shirt. I took my staff firmly in hand and turned to find my companion slipping into her hoodie. She trembled slightly, which was understandable. If you've been safe your entire life, being plunged into a scenario where you could easily die was sure to put you on edge.

I took her hand once more, causing her to look up at me. Exploiting all the fake confidence I could muster, I generated a reassuring smile. "We're going to make it."

She stared for a moment, before smiling back, allowing herself to be fooled. "O- Okay."

The once peaceful oaks that populated the woodlands now glared down at us with an unmistakable evil. Their branches gnarled and knotted, the leaves tattered and worn. In reality, they were the same as they had been a few hours ago, the vast shadow was the only thing that morphed them.

A hollow groan echoed from up ahead, snapping my gaze to the threat. A sickly green flesh hung insecurely from a brittle frame, swaying with the monster's every movement. Clothing scratched and torn gathered in heaps across the figure's gashes and wounds. Despite all of this, it was surprisingly agile, moving towards us at a steady speed.

I parted from Julia's grasp as we neared, taking my weapon in both hands. With a heavy impact, I slammed the butt of the staff into its chest, flinging the horror upwards before bringing it crashing back to the ground. I slammed the hardwood against its skull, finishing its struggle.

Julia stood rooted to the ground a few feet away. Her gaze flickered to the creature, and then back to me, unsure of who she should be more afraid of. Unable to wait for her decision, I closed the distance between us and took her hand, pulling her after me.

We ran through the remainder of the forest, dodging around the sounds of footsteps that littered every corner. Eventually, we stumbled out into the clearing. Our destination was obvious. The small fortress that stood within the grassland's centre was illuminated by torchlight, standing out against the darkened background.

I held the girl a little tighter as we broke into a sprint. It wasn't hard to see the twisted forms that roamed the plains. If you looked closely, it was obvious that they didn't belong. Creepers, skeletons, zombies, spiders… They were all there. I could feel their malicious gaze upon us, staring us down as we ran for our lives.

Adrenaline pumped through my veins, pushing me faster and faster. I heard a series of shouts from up ahead, a few figures peered over the wall, standing on parapets that must have been raised after I left. They pointed at us and yelled out in support. A section of the fortress began to shift, sliding to the side to create a large opening. A crowd of people stood behind it, terrified and frightened by their sudden lack of protection. A select few shouted at us to run faster. The makeshift gateway was our only chance at survival.

We were so close now, only a hundred or so yards away. My blood ran cold as three lonely shadows cut off our path. Two zombies, their rotting flesh making me grimace in disgust. And the last… Forest green skin, riddled with small holes that were clogged with a familiar black substance. Four small legs made up for its lack of arms, propelling it forwards silently. But its most horrifying feature was its face. It wasn't deformed or mangled, nor was it unkind. It was simply…

The essence of despair.

"Get inside." I ordered Julia, pushing her in front of me.

She narrowly swerved through the gap between the two zombies, who went to give chase. I slammed my staff into the back of one, returning their attention to me. I swung the opposite end of my weapon upwards, hitting my opponent hard in the jaw.

His mutated companion swiped at me. I ducked under the attack as it split the air above me with incredible strength. I struck at the beast's ankles, sending him crashing the ground, immobilized but not for long. A faint hiss echoed from behind me, setting my instincts alight.

_Run. Run anywhere. Anywhere but here._

I turned just in time to stare back at the longing creature before me. What it longed for, I did not know. But I saw its hollow black eyes spark with flame. And without warning, the beast exploded. Time seemed to come to a halt as I was flung backwards. I saw a million things at once. From the subtle movement of every individual blade of grass, to the tiniest detail on every tree. The endless drone of light from the moon above, to the string of emotions that cascaded from every person behind me.

Was this what it was like to die?

I smirked, accelerating time back to its usual tick tock rhythm. I hit the ground hard, rolling over my shoulders and landing crouched as I skidded backwards a few feet. I stared up at the two zombies that had righted themselves a small distance away.

Fuck that.

I sprinted forwards, spinning my staff in front of me. With a quick pounce upwards, I slammed the weapon down on the first competitor, toppling him over with a sickening crack. I spun one eighty, smashing into the ribs of the other. It stumbled backwards, before glaring up at me. Dodging to the side of a rage fuelled charge, I let my enemy stumble past. Seething for a moment, it pushed forwards once more, hazy eyes filled with anger. As it reached for me, I wielded my staff as sword. Packing as much force as I could, I sent the hardwood pummelling straight into the figures head, crushing the bone underneath.

The body slumped to the ground, motionless. My breathing was uneven, coming out in heavy succession. I stared down at the two crumpled figures. Kill or be killed…

No. If we had just come back sooner, I wouldn't have had to kill anything. I sighed, before turning back to the opening. Hundreds of eyes were pinned on me, watching my every move. I gazed back at them. There was no escaping what I had done. Some, particularly the little ones, looked at me with admiration. Others… With disgust.

Julia took a few steps forwards, her long hair swaying slightly with her steps. She came to a stop before me, staring at my chest before meeting my eyes. "Eli..."

I looked down at myself. Severe burn marks tortured my skin, running across my left arm and chest, undoubtedly coiling up around my neck. It was now, as my adrenaline faded, that the pain began. I winced, beginning to feel light headed. She studied me, worried, unsure of what to do.

She entwined her fingers within mine. "Just focus on me."

I closed my eyes, trying to do as she said, trying to ignore the pain. It wasn't working. I felt as if I were being stabbed a million times over, my skin cleaved from the muscle with a rusty knife. She pressed closer to me, her body up against mine. My thoughts froze.

She was warm…

The pain was still there, she couldn't fix that, but she could distract me from it. She wrapped her arms around me, pulling me into a gentle embrace. I could have stayed like that forever. But the night breeze only reminded me of the danger we were still in. I sighed, placing my hands on her waist and putting a few inches between us.

I smiled at her. "Thanks." She stared up at me for a moment before nodding, looking to the ground in an effort to hide her blush. "Come on."

We walked through the gateway, which was quickly closed behind us. The crowd parted as we entered, making way as we looked for a place to rest. They stared as we passed, assessing us, watching us. I saw Jake wave us over from the other side of the enclosed space. Leaning on my staff fairly heavily by this point, we made our way over to him.

"Quite an entrance you made there." He noted, looking over my injuries before briefly sweeping his gaze across Julia. She shifted a little closer to me, to which Jake responded with a smile. "Well, all that matters is you're alive."

My words came out slowly and sharply. "I don't mean to cut you short, but we're both tired."

The boy stiffened a little. "Of course, my bad. There's some space leftover under the parapets, go ahead and take it."

I nodded my thanks and turned from him, making for the designated area. Julia hung by me, which made me feel a little less uneasy about the relentless glares that were directed my way. I almost collapsed onto the grass once we had secured a small spot beneath the rampant. I lay comfortably on my uninjured side, finally being able to relax. My eyes flickered open to find Julia staring awkwardly at the space next to me. There really wasn't much room for both of us…

I closed my eyes and waited for her to make a decision. Eventually, she lay down, her back to me. I smiled and stretched an arm around her waist.

She flinched, but soon returned to a relaxed state. "What are you doing?"

"You're soft."

"And that means you get to touch me?" Despite her words, she didn't sound uncomfortable, almost playful.

I smiled innocently, despite her not being able to see it. "I'm in pain, leave me alone."

She let go a small giggle, allowing me to pull her a little closer. "Only tonight."

It was strange how close we had become. After all, I had only met her that day. Then again, I had also been trapped inside a cruel mimic of my favourite game, fought for my life more than once, and suffered numerous injuries. I suppose looking at it like that, there wasn't anything wrong with enjoying her company.

I felt the exhaustion begin to overtake me. It fought back and forth with my reeling thoughts, until it finally stood victorious. Sending me into the abyss.

* * *

**Author Note:**

Now, you may be wondering why I split off from the general storyline here, however! You will notice that this story is listed in the romance genera, and as such, I thought it fitting to incorporate said romance. Oh, and you needn't worry about the darkness of the plot... Has anybody read 100 Days to Mine? It's a Minecraft fan fiction classic. In fact, it featured on a few phone apps and hundreds of forums.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Reviews!

OSR fanatic: Thanks for the support, I will! :)  
The Bet Guest: Your suggestions and encouragement push me onwards, as always. A fault with the wall you say? Well... Let's see.  
Thamiir Davis: Hahahaha, well, it wouldn't be rated 'M' if I was going to sugar-coat everything. Especially later on... And hell yeah I want your OC! Get it in quickly! Also, hint acknowledged.  
WiseguyJaco: Young minds are susceptible to adult suggestion. But I totally get where you're coming from, maybe I did lay that down a bit too quickly. Thanks for correcting me, I'll try not to make similar mistakes in the future.  
Techhy: TECHHYYYYYYYYYY! I missed you! Also, I'm fearful for my life... But I missed you! Welcome back. :D

We are doing OCs! That is a thing that we are doing. However, most of them will be background or filler characters. Then again, my stories have a tendency to be so unpredictable that your submission might just end up ruling the world. Who knows? Be warned, any characters that you submit may end up tortured, experimented on, hooked up, gruesomely murdered, or... Meet _other_, unsavoury ends. Try not to make them _too _detailed, but don't make them extremely vague either.

Anyway, 'till next time.

\- Sylent


	5. Welcome to the club

**Author Note:**

And we're back.

Due to a _large_ amount of requests, complaints, and death threats, (I'm looking at you Chase1998) I've finally jotted down the next chapter. It might be a little lacking in substance, but that's mostly just because it'll take me a bit of time to get back into the swing of things. And hopefully I can do just that.

Still, I must say... For a story with only four chapters, 60 reviews, 34 favorites, and 45 follows isn't _too bad._ Small shout out to LadyAvisOfRedRock, whose review prompted me to hit the keyboard this morning. You can thank her for that last bit of motivation needed to continue, along with what seems to be _every one of my followers,_ who take the time to pester me about it on Endergirl.

So, without further ado *cough* *cough* one year... I present chapter five, of A Fool's Conviction.

* * *

**"Welcome to the club."**

I woke up alone.

I don't know why I was so surprised, you'd think it would be normal. I rolled over awkwardly, wincing at the various points of pain which spread across my build. But… they felt _significantly_ better than they had yesterday. It almost felt like the injuries had been nulled by simply sleeping them away.

My eyes swayed lazily as they opened. But I wasn't in my bedroom. A small sigh escaped me. Not a dream after all, huh?

"Don't sound so depressed!" An unmistakable voice echoed.

I lulled my head, finding a certain fedora sporting god lounging a few feet away, thumbs fiddling with a DS. He seemed enthralled with the device.

"What're you playing?"

"Chrono Trigger."

The famous game struck a chord against my memory. It was quite fun… "You're bored already?"

"Well, so far everyone's refusing to kill each other. It's quite disappointing." The man answered, pouting a little as he jabbed at the buttons.

His words were quite informative. It would seem everybody was retaining some form of order, for now. I ignored the empowered being as my eyes took in our surroundings. We were under the parapets, which provided enough shade to render the morning sun powerless. The rest of the trampled ground within the fortress was absent of life. "Where is everyone?"

"Gathering resources. The blond guy entrusted you with defending this shack."

There he goes, our all-knowing leader dumping tasks on me again. I wasn't even awake this time.

Notch closed his portable console, and tucked it into his pocket, giving me the entirety of his attention. "I went through your code."

Code? So it was a program… We hadn't been placed into a different world, we had been transferred into a virtual reality.

"When you talked yesterday, despite me muting everybody… It was quite surprising." He continued.

"What'd you find?" I stood up, stretching out my arms.

"Well, the order in which player entities are programmed is such: Connection established, consciousness transferred, physical form created, and then locking to the world's game rules. And it would seem, that since you joined so late…"

"Some of the game rules weren't applied before I was officially logged in." I smirked. "So it's a glitch."

"It's _not_ a glitch." The man seemed offended.

I gave the god a smug smile. "Well if it's not a glitch, then it shouldn't need patching."

He twitched. "I'm leaving."

A cloud of smoke erupted around the figure, and in a matter of seconds, he was gone. The smoke soon dissipated, wisped away by the small breeze which poured through the tiny gaps in the fortress's walls. I was alone again.

Day two in Notchcraft. If yesterday was anything to go by, then today would certainly prove interesting… I glanced around, remembering something.

Julia had left. I mean of course she had, there were things to be done. 'Just for tonight.' The words rang through my head, prompting a streak of embarrassment. I was definitely out of my mind that evening.

My sigh stopped halfway as my eyes fell upon the polished staff. The staff that I'd be dead without. I suppose I had taken a liking to it. It wasn't as deadly as a sword, nor was it intimidating. It really was just a big stick. But it had saved me more than once so far… I was lucky to have it.

The girl from sixteen…

I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the thought. I shouldn't be thinking about other nations right now. We have to focus on our own survival before we can even think about making contact. Still… if I ever get the chance, I'll have to thank her for giving it to me. In a way, every time I use the weapon to save myself, she saves me.

I smirked, and took up my companion, realising that I was overthinking things.

Ignoring the complaints of my muscles, I climbed the rickety ladder to the wall's heights, and gazed out at the expanse of land.

From here, the clearing seemed like a small dot, surrounded by forest and ocean on all sides. It wasn't tall enough to see far over the tree line, which made sense considering what the fortress was made out of. The beauty of this place struck me once more as I scanned the horizon. I'm not sure what it was, but it all just seemed so _clean._ It was as if nature had done away with its imperfections, and placed only the most perfect specimens within this world. The grass was still luscious and mown, the breeze was still steady and refreshing… For a game of death, this was a pretty nice arena.

I mentally kicked myself for thinking like that. It didn't have to be that way. Just because we're trapped here, doesn't mean we have to follow _his_ plans. We don't _have_ to kill _anyone._

Something out of the ordinary caught my eye.

Far off to one side of the clearing, gathered around a dozen tree stumps, was a rapidly growing group of people. Even from this distance, I could recognise a few. They seemed to be pouring in from their posts, attracted by some dispute. Two figures stood within the group's centre, yelling something incoherent.

I watched for a while, trying to assure myself that it wasn't my problem. Jake can take care of it, surely. And he did. Or at least, he tried to. I saw him burst through the crowd, and begin his smooth talk. He seemed to be doing alright.

Of course, when one of the figures hefted his axe, it _became_ my problem.

I practically groaned my way down the ladder, out the gates, across the clearing, and towards the circle. I really wasn't in the mood for this. I wanted some breakfast, and a few more hours of sleep. A thought occurred to me as the back row of people noticed my presence, and began to scatter.

When the hell did this become my job?

I paused briefly as their words became audible.

"Are you fucking kidding me? That doesn't make any difference if you're too blind to see it!" One of the figures, a high school girl shouted.

"I would have found it eventually if you hadn't gone and stolen it!" The other, a younger boy, retorted.

Jake attempted to bring things down a notch. "Now, now, I'm sure we can work someth-"

"Shut up, who told you to get involved?" The girl snapped.

A few faces looked around sheepishly as our leader was discarded from the conversation. People expected him to do something about it, but his power hadn't really been established yet, which made it difficult to moderate others.

I felt a touch on my arm. All I needed to see was the iconic white hoodie, to recognise who it was. Julia briefly examined my wounds, seemingly satisfied with the progress.

I gave her a smile. "Good morning."

"H- Hey. Sorry I ditched you."

"It's alright." I nodded towards the ongoing argument. "What's going on?"

She followed my gaze, sighing. "We divided into sections a few hours ago, so that each of us would have an area to gather resources from. She found what seems to be a small ruin, with a chest inside."

I remembered the girl from sixteen mentioning something about ruins. That's where she found all her loot. "What was in it?"

"A stone sword."

"Anything else?"

"I don't think so…"

So the items were pretty scarce… But it didn't really matter if the ruins were so common, which I was lead to believe they were. "So what's the problem?"

"Well, she found the chest, but it was in his resource area. He thinks it belongs to him, she thinks it belongs to her, nobody is really sure who's right."

"I see."

The boy pointed his wooden hatchet towards the girl. "What are you going to do with it anyway!? It's not like you can fight!"

"I can fight better than you, fucking twelvie."

"I'm thirteen!"

"If you have to specify your age, you're definitely a twelvie."

"Fine, let's fight right now. Whoever wins, gets the sword."

The girl seemed a little knocked back, but recovered quickly. "Agreed!"

Jake sidestepped towards me, trying not to draw any attention to himself. It was a futile effort, everybody was already glancing my way. After he had failed, I was next in line to sort things out. But it really wasn't my responsibility.

"Hey, uh, Eli… feel like doing something about this?"

I kept my eyes on the dispute, as the fighters found some space amongst the tree stumps. "Why?"

"Why? Because they're fighting?"

"So?"

Julia pressed against me slightly, watching the boy ready his axe. The girl, on the other hand, was defenceless. I sighed, hardly believing what I was about to do. I took a step forwards, and the crowd seemed to relax as I arrived on the scene. A path cleared for me.

The arguing pair whitened slightly as I approached. It hurt a little. Was I really that terrifying?

The older girl made me feel a slightly better. "W- What the fuck do you want?"

Taking my time, I got comfortable on one of the freshly stripped stumps, nursing my wounds slightly. Everyone was watching me. I was used to standing out… but not like this. Ignoring the uneasy feeling, I maintained my demeanour. "I was just wondering if this is a fair fight."

"Fair? Of course not! She's going to get crushed." The twelvie boasted.

"Agreed. I mean, you've got a weapon, and well… you're up against a defenceless girl."

His head snapped towards me, considering his options. He threw the axe aside. "I don't need it to beat her."

"You sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. She's just a girl after all."

"She's older than you."

"It doesn't matter."

"Huh. Alright, I'll referee."

The girl looked at me oddly. "You're not going to stop us?"

"No, why would I?"

A few of the audience shifted awkwardly as they realised what I was getting at. It really wasn't my job to keep things under control. I was just lucky in all my endeavours yesterday. I was the first one here to stand against a mob and survive. I knew how to handle myself, but that didn't mean it made me different.

Although, Notch seemed to think otherwise.

Something occurred to me just before I was about to start a countdown. "I've got a question."

"Ye- Yeah?" The older fighter asked.

"If I want the sword, can I join the fight as well?"

Everyone stiffened at my words, guessing at the implications. They suddenly seemed pretty fearful. But still, the girl, who had by now proven her bravery twice over, answered me. "I don't think that would be fair… I mean, you weren't even part of this to begin with."

"Oh, I see. Let's get started then."

Both sides readied themselves.

"Ready?" I paused to wait for objections. "Fight!"

I'll be honest, not even I was expecting what happened next. The girl, who we later found out was a three time karate champion, full on axe kicked the kid's face. There was no warning, no chance for defence. One minute he was up, and the next he was on the ground, completely and utterly dead to the world.

All eyes lay fixed on the unconscious boy, before slowly, and unanimously, turning towards the victor.

She patted down her skirt, and stood proudly. "Take that you little bitch."

While I was still shocked, I took the time to admire her in a new light. Long black hair, brown eyes, and pale skin. If it weren't for the shape of her face, I would have thought her Japanese. But she was defiantly European. "W- What did you say your name was?"

"Huh? Florida."

"Right… Uh, Florida wins."

A nerdy guy protruded from the circle slightly, handing over her new possession.

I was surprised by the quality. Despite being stone, it seemed sturdy and sharp, a little heavy though… Still, she seemed satisfied, which set everyone at ease.

It would seem there was another person who they would have to watch their step around.

I smirked at her as she looked around awkwardly, having noticed the way people were avoiding her gaze. "Welcome to the club."

* * *

Unwittingly, I had created our first tradition.

Any and all disputes that had no clear answer, were now solved via fist fight. The parties concerned would all partake in the event, with a referee to decide the outcome. No weapons were to be used, and anyone who wasn't involved had no say in the operation.

Jake was happy.

Julia was not.

"Do you know how many injuries we've had today?" She ranted at me while rushing around her patients.

We were under what had become 'the medic's tree', an outlier not far from the fortress. At least a dozen of the people present fashioned various bruises and breakages. Almost all of them were injuries obtained from fighting each other.

"Sorry."

She hurried to bring water to a nine-year-old "I mean seriously, what were you thinking?"

"Hey, it's not my job to babysit everyone."

"You're right! It's mine! I had enough to deal with already, and now every _minute,_ somebody else shows up with a black eye." She stopped for a moment, noticing she had been yelling in my face. A low sigh escaped her as she rested her head on my shoulder. "I'm sorry."

I felt guilty almost instantly. "No, it's my fault. You're right."

She looked up at me, her exhausted green eyes relaxing for a moment. She didn't have to put on a strong front when we were like this. A smile forgave my screw up, and I felt a weight lift from my shoulders.

"I'm sure Jake has something he needs done. Why don't you go check on him instead of taking up space here?" She mused, turning back to her needy patients.

"Ouch."

Her hair seemed to bounce as she looked over her shoulder, a teasing quirk on her face. "That's right, I don't want you here."

I made a big show of clutching at my heart, pretending it was broken in two.

This earnt a laugh, followed by a shy smile. "Come back though…"

"I will."

As I turned, I felt a long-absent spring return to my step. It was a little odd to think I would be happy after being stuck here. But, there wasn't really a reason _not _to be happy. I was respected, even if it was only through fear; I had friends, or at least acquaintances, which is a lot more than anything I'd had before; and I had Julia, who was… Well, Julia was Julia. I had learnt a lot yesterday, and I didn't plan to repeat my mistakes. Everything was under control. I was surprised at my positivity.

"Eli!" Jake called.

I took note of our leader, who was overseeing the fort expansions. The plan was to create an outer wall, another line of defence. With that, the existing space would be used to house leadership and operations, while the outer would house everyone else. When it had been suggested, I was a little dubious about the order of things. But questioning Jake's authority in front of everyone would just give me more work. I refrained from comment.

The spring in my step began to dissipate as I recognised his awkward half smile. There was a problem.

He took me aside from his entourage of builders, the grass cushioning underfoot until their voices became background noise. "We have a situation."

"Yeah?" I glanced up at him, making me realise once more how tall he really was. His blond hair shifted in the breeze.

Awkwardly, almost embarrassed, the boy explained "People are getting hungry."

"And we don't have any food."

"Which is why…" His sentence trailed off, a rolling hand gesture prompting me to finish.

I felt like a pre-schooler. "You want me to assemble a hunting party?"

"Bingo!"

… Bingo?

"Grab the good fighters, and gather anything edible. Mushrooms, apples, _meat._" It was clear which one he was more interested in. "Then, we can begin rationing out helpings in return for people's resources!"

Something about the notion irked me. "You want to trade food for labour…"

The attractive boy cued in, realising he'd struck the wrong chord. "Well, not really. I mean, everyone will get some, regardless. The hardworking ones will just get more."

"I see."

The breeze picked up, bringing the faint sound of crashing waves to our ears. For some reason, the sense brought back a recent memory. My skydive into this world hadn't been a pleasant experience. The sprinting view of land rushing to meet me was still fresh in my mind, but so were the other marvels. I glanced off in the direction of the floating isles.

"Eli?"

My gaze snapped back from the distraction, inciting a small jump in Jake's posture. "I'll get to it."

"G- Good. Thanks."

* * *

"Florida, right?"

The dark haired girl whipped around, hurling a large sack of items to the ground as she readied to fend me off with the stone blade in her grasp.

Wary, I took a step back. I might be feared, but currently, I was quite certain of who would win a melee between the two of us. Which is why she was the first person I thought of. "Tough day, huh?"

With recognition, she relaxed her stance, a tinge of crimson hitting her cheeks. "Y- Yeah… it could've been better."

I had of course, trudged through the forest, following recounts from a series of pissed off woodsmen, as they all said pretty much the same thing. 'That damn scavenger looted my entire area.'

Presently, we stood before a small set of stone pillars, arranged beneath thick branches. Further examination would portray them as stone brick, assembled by some long past constructor. Although by this point I was leaning more to the randomly generated side. A single chest sat amongst them, ripe for the picking. "Probably because you keep doing shit like this."

"Are you going to stop me?" Her eyes took on a hostile hue.

"God no, you'd beat me senseless."

My honesty seemed to throw her off.

"… Really?"

I sighed, stepping back from my feared persona for a second. "I'm the school punching bag back home."

Unbelieving, the girl gave an uncharacteristic laugh. Her brown eyes scrunched slightly at the corners. "So, all of the shit you've done…?"

"Pure luck."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Not sure. Kind of regretting it now."

She smirked, letting the conversation pause before moving on. "So, how can I help you? Mr. Punching Bag."

Ignoring the new title, I proceeded with a mirrored expression. "Jake wants a hunting party."

"And what do I stand to gain?"

"My undying gratitude. And food, I guess."

"Sign me up. You can keep the gratitude though."

"Great." I watched as she strode towards the chest, opening it with the excitement of a small child on Christmas morning. "So… uhh… Do you know anyone else, who might be interested?"

"You're hopeless."

"Yeah, I know."

* * *

**Author Note:**

And there we have it.

Some peculiar notes from Notch, a dash of romance from Julia, and a bit of ass kicking from Florida. What more could you ask for? Well, my editor did quit, so maybe you could ask for less mistakes, but lets not get into that right now. ':3

Now, due to time constraints, and having learnt my lesson from Endergirl... I won't be answering reviews on this story anymore. UNLESS, they are hilariously funny, or need answers. Sorry 'bout that, but we're getting about fifty reviews per chapter on Endergirl, and this story seems to be more popular, so I fear for what could happen. ':D

I do have all your OCs though, and I'll be sure to drop a few in there, so stay tuned!

Ciao.

\- Sylent


	6. It's not easy

**Author Note:**

May have gone a little of tangent here, in terms of writing style. But, well, I suppose it has been a tough few days. I'm interested to know if it's actually interesting. Will it live up to the previous chapters? Only _you_ can tell me how to improve and what to work on.

In other news, I released the first chapter of Hyperion Brat, my Borderlands fic. You shouldn't need any previous knowledge of the franchise to enjoy the story, and I'd certainly appreciate some more feedback on it. Meh, up to you.

OH, OH, there's an OC in this chapter. He'll be showing up a fair bit, probably. Alton House submitted the OC for one Adrian Hall, a bespectacled director. He's strategic and odd, as I'm sure you'll see.

Anyway, here's the next chapter for AFC.

Order up.

* * *

**It's not easy.**

I inspected the troops with mild disappointment.

We stood on the clearings edge, furthest from the shore, a haphazard collection of onlookers passing by in curiosity as our remaining two members hurried back.

"Here's the last of them." Florida announced, presenting yet another boy.

This one looked a little different to the others. Lanky, and tall. Taller than me by an inch, perhaps. His narrow glasses threw an odd glint in the midday sun. Maybe they were fake…

"What's your name?"

The boy paused to collect his breath, obviously a little worn from keeping up with his guide. "Adrian. Hall." The surname almost sounded like an afterthought.

"Fighting experience?"

"Taekwondo and Jujutsu."

I glanced at Florida, who nodded in confirmation. After the morning's fight, she had quickly gone about starting half a dozen more. She knew who the combatants were. Her winning streak showed no indication of slowing, however.

"Welcome to the team." I gestured to fall in.

He remained where he was, partially removed. Whatever.

The two other boys were brutish, reminding me of the many high school bullies I had pissed off over the years. Classic blond hair blue eyes type deal. Maybe they were brothers? Maybe they were Swedish… I refrained from asking. Too many 'maybes,' too early in the morning.

Clearing my voice, I prepared for the briefing. As all eyes fell on me, I stiffened awkwardly. Each person here could probably kick my ass in a fight. Why was I the leader? More importantly, why was Florida the only girl? "Are you trying to start a harem?"

The karate champion took a step back from the unexpected question. "N- No?"

"Hm." The eyes turned back to me. Fine, whatever. "You all know why you're here." Pausing for dramatic effect, I realised there wasn't much left to say. "Let's go."

A unanimous blink told me they weren't satisfied.

"That wasn't very motivating." Adrian noted scientifically.

Ignoring him, I turned, staff in hand, and started into the plantation style woodlands. With a silent hesitation, the group followed a distance behind.

The most noticeable part of the journey was its entrance. Stepping from one biome to the other always carried a foreboding vibe. But as usual, the trees swayed in the breeze, and the occasional leave spun from their high branches, setting us at ease within moments.

At times, the trunks would fall into a scattered alignment, presenting small corridors which aided our hike. It was as beautiful as ever. I shook my head, reminding myself that we were trying to escape this digital prison, not admire it.

Florida caught up to me. "Where are we going?"

Uhhhhh, "I was following you."

"You're at the front of the line."

"Right."

"Are you okay?"

I pinched her sleeve and pulled her a little closer, she tensed, but didn't complain before my thoughts spilled into a whisper. "I've _never_ been with a group before and I'm _not_ a leader, I'm an introvert. To be frank, I haven't got a _clue_ what I'm doing and I'm pretty sure we've been wandering in circles for the past couple minutes."

The girl stared at me, realisation dawning as she comprehended the barrage of words. "You've never had a girlfriend have you?"

A flash of red hit my cheekbones as she nailed the truth to a public noticeboard. But for some reason, I felt much better having shared my worries, even if she was being a bitch about it. "You should take over."

"God no, I'm as bad as you are."

"You've never had a boyfriend?"

"That is _not_ what I was referring to." Her serious expression flushed in confirmation.

"Oh god, we're going to die."

"Think of something!" She shout-whispered.

My mind spun in several different directions, finally latching onto why I had been doing so well during my time in Notchcraft. _I hadn't had to work with other people._ One person I could handle, but any more than that sent me into a nervous wreck. This was a terrible idea. Only a single sliver of hope protruded from the mess that was my train of thought. Straightening my posture, I waited for the others to catch up before clearing my voice. "I have an idea!" Everything I said sounded like a straight lie, I tried to tone down the enthusiasm. "A test of leadership, to see who will be the best second in command!" It didn't work.

The Swedes seemed interested.

Adrian saw straight through me.

Nevertheless, with a sigh, he trudged to the front and kept walking.

"What do we have to do?" One of the blonds asked, utterly fooled.

"Uhh, follow Adrian?"

They nodded, and hustled onwards.

A moment passed as the wind whistled past us, bringing a collection of leaves with it. The momentary change of sunlight reflected a spectrum of green from every surface before the breeze died back down.

"You're the worst liar _ever._" Florida complained.

"Leave me alone."

* * *

After a while, I had managed to calm myself down. Being in charge took its toll on me, and to be honest, I was brutally happy the experience was over with. Furthermore, Florida seemed to have opened up a little more after realising we were both loners. Although, we seemed to be on different sides of the line. Where she was tough and successful, I was weak and lucky. She had respect, and until recently, I never had.

"So you've never had a girlfriend?"

"You're bringing this up now?"

"Just wondering. I mean, everybody's shipping you with that nurse."

A stroke of awkward embarrassment hit me as I ducked under a low branch. "All _ten thousand_ people?"

"Pretty much."

"Why?" I was a little anxious to know. Giddy, maybe.

She shrugged. "You guys are kind of cute? I don't know. I'm not into this sort of thing."

"What are you into?"

"Huh?"

I looked at her. "What are you into? I'm interested."

She paused, thinking. "Fighting, I guess. Fighting games… Dogs."

"Dogs?"

She tensed up as I caught on, uncomfortable that she had let the detail go. "Yeah, got a problem?"

"No, dogs are cool. We used to have one."

"What breed?!" Her eyes practically lit up, if I looked close enough, I was sure I could see stars.

Her enthusiasm sent me back a step as we came to a halt. "B- Border Terrier?"

A small 'o' formed on her lips, prompting more details.

"He loved cheese. Like, a _serious_ cheese addiction."

"Cheese?"

"Yeah, it was kind of wei-"

Up ahead, Adrian appeared from around the corner. Pressing a finger to his lips, the other hand prompted us forwards. With his dark and tattered clothing, he almost looked like a hulking statue. That, or he had been sucked into this world whilst robbing someone's house.

My grasp tightened around my staff as the two of us paced towards him, softening our steps on the crisp grass below. As we neared, new sounds rose to the senses. Slight, and almost indistinguishable, but present nonetheless. Animals, or enemies?

"Baaa."

The initial call was followed by a chorus of duplicates. Well, that answers that.

All three of us joined the Swede brothers at the top of a small mound, which seemed to separate the forest from the next biome. It only veered up slightly, which made it easy enough to peer over onto the grass plains below.

And let me tell you, these plains were _broad._ Far larger than our miniscule clearing. It separated from the forest in a jagged manner, before widening out to grasp the entirety of my vision. I couldn't see its end, nor any phrase of reference. It was just… _flat._ Like a healthy green desert, hammered by wind.

Because the gale had been growing stronger. I realised that now. Having dismissed it as changing weather, I had no idea what was really causing the trees to waver and shake in their boots. An endless runway like this certainly gave the winds a good run up…

"What do you think?"

I refocussed on the nearest group of animals. Sheep. A small herd of six or so. They actually looked pretty cute with their fluffy, pristine coats. Again, another feature of this game that was unjustly clean. Maybe Notch was just a germophobe. My mind ticked over the sight of each animal. They were quite large… "We can probably only manage two."

Adrian nodded. "We'll leave it to you guys then."

"Us?" Florida seemed a little disjointed.

"You both have weapons."

"T- True…"

He paused, judging her demeanour. "Can you kill it?"

"Of course I can." She snapped, looking to me before she had time to reconsider. "Ready?"

"Uh, y- yeah. Are you sure abo-"

"Go!"

And then we were running. In a whir, Florida had grabbed my wrist, and pulled me along for the ride. Our short trip to the bottom gave me no time to consider a plan of attack. Neither did I have time to ponder exactly how it would feel to crush a defenceless animal's skull.

I soon found out.

With a frantic beat of warning cries, like a guitar chord strummed wrong, the flock bolted. But they were far too slow. We were practically on top of them, and in a split second, I heard a foreboding _squelch_ resound from Florida's blade. Too much adrenaline flooded my blood, pumping my muscles into action. I jabbed out at the first streak of white that came within range. A whimper accompanied the impact, and before I knew it, I had straddled the poor thing as it thrashed in a dizzy terror.

Wielding my staff, I heaved upwards, and brought the blunted end down _hard._

Crunch.

Pounding hoof beats filled what soon became an empty silence. My heart was beating fast, faster than usual. I felt sick. There was no warmup, and no warning. Run, kill. It had lasted mere seconds. To be honest, I was still confused as to what we were supposed to do. I think a little bit of my consciousness was still up on the ridge, waiting for proper orders before doing anything rash.

I looked down.

A flush of crimson escaped in great streams from a gaping hole in the temple. It flowed in heaves, soon covering the sheep's face in a thick red veil. Its open eye stared accusingly.

I didn't shake, or feint, or anything theatrical like that. I simply stood up, and looked over to the huntress. Her stone sword impaled the target's spine, lodged straight through. She wasn't moving.

"Florida." … Nothing. "Flo."

Twitching at the odd nickname, she looked up to me, her face empty.

Because that's the thing, isn't it. So many stories talk about _killing,_ and _death._ The hero always needs to slay some villain, or some monster. And sure, the first few times it's hard, and sad… But then we move on. The stories start describing death less and less because we think we can understand what it means.

We can't.

It's not easy. And I hope it never is.

* * *

Dusk was nearing by the time we returned. The sun sat lazily above the forest, threatening to drop at any moment. It looked tired. I could hardly blame it.

Voices rang out as we emerged.

The last lines of people were filing into the newly expanded fort. It was as if it had rolled over on itself, doubling in size. I found myself admiring the collective work of our builders. I also found myself wondering if they had cut any corners to get it done on time.

But as we pulled closer, the wall revealed itself to be sturdy and quite intact. Somebody even had time to add a small parapet. The guard stared down at us excitedly, his eyes lingering on the collection of ingredients trailed in our wake. Spinning, he shouted into the buzz of noise. "The hunters are back!"

A small cheer echoed out the gates, but it did nothing to subdue the chatter of conversation. It was unusual, a little nervous. Had something happened?

I glanced over at Florida. She was still a little out of it, but she recognised it as well. Her shrug said she didn't know either.

As soon as we crossed the threshold, several figures jumped out at us, hurrying to bring news. "Jake needs to see you."

I sighed. "Alright, I'll be there in a seco-"

"All of you."

My mind rang with warning signs. Something was wrong. Why would he need all of the fighters? Maybe it was just a debrief? No, the air was too tense for that. "What's going on?"

"You'll see, just hurry up!"

Without another word, our guides pushed through the crowd, opening a path for us. We didn't need to be told twice.

The inner wall loomed above as we crossed inside, finally finding an open space. Although, every tiny gap and every open entrance was filled with curious faces, staring in at whatever was going on.

A collection of people gathered in the clearing's centre, folded around a bulky wooden table. But some of them were… unfamiliar.

Jake's voice was raised. "I'm not sure if you understand your position." His arms spread to present his accomplishments. "You're in _no_ place, to be making demands. Oh, Eli, get over here."

Cautious, I gripped my staff, advancing towards the meeting. I was beginning to recognise the situation. Stamped on the stranger's arms, were the jet black numbers of nation sixteen.

Sixteen? I glanced around hopefully. And sure enough, a little removed and more than a little out of her comfort zone, a familiar blonde girl fiddled with her bowstring.

Her ocean blue eyes caught mine, widening in recognition. She looked away shyly, as if ashamed.

"We're not making _demands,_ we're negotiating."

I examined the visitors. Six of them, excluding her, all men. They were built, and tough, a show of power. Furthermore, they all flashed stone blades at their belts. It was obvious they had been given their nation's best. Their leader was perhaps the oldest, in his late twenties no doubt. He seemed to be a fan of hand gestures.

"Negotiating? After we caught you sneaking around?" Jake was pressing his authority, it would seem.

"We were looking for the bloody entrance! This thing is a fucking circle, how were we supposed to know where it was?"

I realised now why Jake wanted us here. It was a response to their threat, a shield to wave in their face. But there were more of them… and they had better weapons. If this went south, I wasn't sure we could fend them off. Delicately, I pressed my heel against Jake's foot.

He ignored me. "Bullshit, you were looking for vulnerabilities!"

"Vulnerabilities? It's made out of fucking _wood!_ Have you considered the _fire_ threat? We didn't need an inspection to figure out the quickest way to kill you lot."

"So you wer-"

I stamped into his ankle, desperate to gain his attention.

His gaze whipped around, anger in his eyes. "What!?"

All attention was on me now.

I shifted awkwardly as silence enveloped the grounds. "W- Why don't we talk this out over a meal?" Shifting in an attempt to explain, I gestured to the food atop the Swiss brother's shoulders "We've got plenty for a stew, or something…"

Dozens of eyes peered through me, labelling me as a fucking imbecile.

Florida stepped up to my side. "Y- Yeah, it sounds like a good idea. It's hard to negotiate on an empty stomach… or so I've heard."

I nodded vigorously, trying to convince them. Their expressions were open books.

A pair of imbeciles.

"I…"

The sounds of a dozen heads turning put the new speaker on pause. She took a step back, her blonde hair bobbing in retreat. Her voice came out as an almost inaudible whisper. "…I like food."

Agreement from both parties.

The tension could have been cut with a hammer. Nevertheless, after an age, Jake threw his hands in the air. "Fine! But if he so much as touches that sword," he spun to point at the primary intruder "you shove your staff up his ass."

Florida looked at him in disbelief. "Dude, too graphic."

"I'm not doing that."

"You get the gist!" Our leader yelled at the air. "Get something cooking." He stormed off in no specific direction, wanting to be away from it all.

I glanced to Florida, who gave a relieved huff. She soon turned to begin the organising of our first meal. Entrusting her with the task, I looked back to the girl from sixteen, only to find she had been watching me. Hurriedly, her ocean gaze snapped to the trodden grass, adverting themselves.

The flickered back a moment later. Something within them was apologetic, like they were admitting to some sin. For the life of me, I couldn't guess at what it was.

I nodded to the closest parapet, empty, now that the second wall had been erected. A place to talk.

She pursed her lips in decision. Her complexion flickered as a large cooking fire took light, casting new shades in every direction, building in potency with each passing second. Once again, I couldn't help but admire her beauty. A type of innocent elegance might be the best way to describe it… But even then, it didn't do her justice.

She nodded back.

* * *

**Author Note:**

So yeah, sorry if it's a little unsatisfying, but there's some roadblock here that I needed to get over. Publishing what's already been written usually helps. Let me know how you found it, and sorry if I haven't replied to PMs, there's an overload of them at the moment. (Like usual)


End file.
